Dungeon Runner

Stepping Up, Chapter 16

He was in darkness again, and his lungs hurt. He tried to kick up, but his feet wouldn't move. He wanted to scream his frustration, but her warning came to him. Think, stay calm, stay focused.

He needed to breathe, but his reserve of air essence was nearly gone. Did he have enough to pull more? What if he didn't and made it so he could never use air again?

Focus!

He knew where there was air; up. All he needed to do was swim there, but his feet...

Of course his feet weren't moving. He'd had to anchor himself down. He sensed the hard earth around them and loosened it, then kicked up.

He swam hard. Air was near, he could hold off until then. He had to.

The burn in his lungs increased, the water felt heavier. He wouldn't make it. He'd die because he hadn't thought to use water to propel him up and out. He'd—

He broke the surface and took a deep breath, then hacked out water and went back under. But this time, he remembered who he was and what he could do, and, despite having trouble breathing, he reached for his essence and found he couldn't pull it out of his reserve.

He thrashed himself back to the surface.

What had happened? Had he pushed himself too far without realizing it? He forced calmness, kept his arms moving. He was no longer drowning, so he had the time to figure this out. His reserve was full, but the walls were thick and resisted the essence passing through them at his command.

He'd visualized them like that so his essence wouldn't save him from drowning as air had done. He hadn't expected it to affect how he'd interact with it. It was just a way for him to 'see' how his essence worked, wasn't it?

It was how Alistair had explained it to him. Essence wasn't what he thought it was. That was just a way for his mind to deal with it; so it could deal with the abstraction of essence being and not being at the same time. There were no boxes made of glass around them. That was just how he imagined it being so he'd have a way to handle them.

Could he make them so thick he couldn't draw on his essence? He studied the walls, considered trying it, but his arms were getting tired, his coughing was becoming painful. Maybe this was something best left for when his lungs weren't filled with water.

He willed them thinner, then used the essence to take hold of the water in his lungs and force it out. Then he hardened the surrounding water until it held him up.

He turned until he saw the light of the town and moved toward it. When he sensed earth under his feet, he walked. His legs wobbled as he got out of the water. This time, the air felt much heavier than the water had. He dropped to his knees on the shore, then laid back, looking at the sky.

Torus was the one not covered by the clouds this time. Its perpetual crescent pointed where the sun would rise. It had been odd, the first time he'd watched the sunrise from one of the town's roofs. Back on his street, Torus didn't point directly to the sunrise; he was slightly off. The sun covered the left horn there, instead of being centered between them here.

Tibs didn't know what it meant. Even Carina didn't, although he knew she could find a book with the answer. Then she'd force him to read it, so he could learn not only that but more of his letters. That was why he no longer asked her every question he thought of. If he was going to have to suffer for the answer, it should be an important question.

So, why Torus changed where he pointed, or how it could be evening when he stepped on a transportation platform in Kragle Rock, but midday when he appeared in MountainSea, or early morning elsewhere, or also evening, would remain mysteries to him. It would be nice to know, but not enough to be worth the extra studying.